AN 11-year-old County Durham girl whose mother claimed multi-million pound damages after she suffered brain damage during her birth, came away from London's High Court yesterday without a penny .

Louise Wood, of Finchale Road, Newton Hall, Durham, was starved of oxygen during her birth at Dryburn Hospital in August 1989. She now suffers from acute cerebral palsy and will need round-the-clock care for the rest of her life.

Through her mother, Gillian, she sued the hospital's managers, the North Durham Acute Hospital NHS Trust, alleging negligence, but medical staff have been exonerated by Mrs Justice Hallett.

Mrs Wood's disappointment at the outcome will be made all the worse by the fact that an offer by the trust to settle Louise's claim for £550,000 was turned away before the trial started.

Mrs Justice Hallett told the court: "At birth, Louise was in a very bad way."

Witnesses had described her as "lifeless, blue and having no heart rate" and one expert said she was "effectively stillborn".

Before resuscitation, she had already suffered permanent brain damage.

Louise's lawyers claimed medics had failed to fully appreciate the risks of a breach birth or to monitor her condition in the womb adequately. They also argued there had been a negligent delay in bringing about the delivery.

But Mrs Justice Hallett told the court: "I am not persuaded that any of the Trust's staff fell below the standards to be expected of the ordinary competent practitioner."

After dismissing Louise's claim, the judge said: "I should like to add this for the sake of Louise's family. I would not want them to think that I found the decision in this case easy.

"I am very conscious of the enormous love and devotion that they have shown to Louise over the years.